BY THEME:

The following Video Clips have Study Modules suitable for SOSE/HSIE Year 10.

To access a Video Clip, click on the Study Module link below it.

Aboriginal People Make a Canoe and Hunt a Turtle (1948)Arnhem Land in Australia’s Northern Territory is the home of coastal Aboriginal People.
On the beach it’s time to play out one of the dramas of daily life - the return of the hunters.

An Outback Policeman’s Life (1952)In the remote outback, a policeman sets out with two Indigenous stockmen to inspect the many hundreds of kilometres he patrols. His duties cover everything from punishing lawbreakers to acting as postmaster.

Australian Biography – Sir Marcus Oliphant (1991)The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Sir Mark Oliphant helped to create the bomb, but even though it ended the war he can never reconcile himself to the loss of civilian life.

Axeman Fell Giant Trees (1949)The axemen established camps throughout the eucalypt forests in the early 20th century. Their job was a combination of skill and stamina, harvesting giant trees for the rapidly growing hardwood industry.

Cane Cutters and Mateship (1948)A group of men get together in a pub and form a cane – cutting gang. Five million tons of sugarcane have to be cut by hand in back breaking conditions in North Queensland.

Closing Day at BHP’s Newcastle Steelworks (2000)Two thousand steelworkers collect their final paychecks and walk out of Newcastle’s BHP steelworks for the last time. Men break down and cry. Many have laboured here all their working lives.

Competing with Asian Clothing Tigers (1994)The manager of a clothing factory explains how, in Australia, his shirt costs 42c a minute while in China it costs 1c a minute. Australia in it’s desire to compete with Asian Tigers means workers are pushed to the limit, like never before.

Constructing the East-West Rail Link (1910)Rare archival footage from 1910 shows camels carrying heavy supplies across the desert. Railway labourers are building the 1400 km railway that will finally link Western Australia with the Eastern States.

Early Aviation in Australia (1929)Early silent film shows a 1920’s flight to Echuca, including the fashionably dressed passengers enjoying refreshments in a tin shed. The aircraft also delivers sick patients to a waiting ambulance.

Family Life in Geelong (1966)In a typical 60s family a mother works to get dinner ready as the children come home after school. After Dad arrives home from work in the Holden, Mum serves traditional roast lamb and three vegetables.

Federation and Defending Our Shores (1901)Federation was a time of jobs and opportunities in city and country alike. But our 12,000-mile coast was long and open to attack. Australia realised it needed a defence force.

The Founding of Canberra (1913)In 1913 the Basic Living Wage of 2 pounds 8 shillings a week is introduced. Politicians, including Billy Hughes, lay the Foundation Stone for the new National Capital in Canberra.

Giovanni’s Tile Business Grows (1984)Well-paid but back-breaking sugarcane work in North Queensland provided the initial resources for Giovanni’s business. He and his family went on to create a now highly- successful imported tile business.

Indigenous Business – A Cattle Station (1973)The Yugal Cattle Co was given a grant of $336,000 to go into business running a cattle station. Their dreams of making money from cattle and beef export are big but there are problems. Traditional Indigenous laws are different from white man’s law.

Is Squeezing Nursing Healthy? (1994)Nurses are frantic as they rush from patient to patient, working under increased patient-to-nurse ratios. Despite this increased pressure, they try not to compromise the quality of their nursing care.

Jack Hazlitt – World War 1 Digger (1991)A World War 1 digger reflects on his work as a runner in the trenches at Gallipoli. Hopping across the trenches in full view of the Turkish snipers, the average life of a runner was 24 hours.

A Land of Milk and Honey and English Lessons (1951)Australia needs new migrants to populate the country and build a more prosperous nation. English lessons are available everywhere, including through correspondence and radio courses.

Outwork - A Vietnamese Refugee's Story (2001)Migrant women work long hours sewing garments at home for a few dollars an hour. Many are refugees and have little understanding of their rights or the chance of alternative employment.

Pensioners Working Part-Time at a Co-Op (1983)Some people experience retiring like hitting a brick wall, finding it hard to live on such a dramatically reduced income. “Beehive” is a Seniors employment co-operative where pensioners can work to earn a few dollars without affecting their Social Security payments.

The Post War Wool Boom (1947)125 million sheep are spread across Australia. 90 thousand tons of lamb and 3 million tons of wool are exported annually. Australia truly rode to prosperity on the sheep’s back.

Return to the Thai-Burma Railway (1987)Weary Dunlop and his elderly comrades return to the site of the Thai-Burma railway. As prisoners of war they each had to dig three cubic metres of earth a day, virtually with their bare hands.

She Wanted To Fly (1991)In the 1930s Nancy Bird Walton became known as the “Angel of the Desert”, working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Some tried to discourage a woman flying on her own in the turbulent conditions of the outback.

Sydney’s Harbour Bridge Finally Completed (1933)For 6 years the two half arches gradually draw closer together. A dream is realised when the heaviest and biggest bridge arch in the world is finally completed.

Wildlife Ranger (1979)Australia’s far north Arnhem Land is patrolled by the wildlife ranger. In a remote and vast area of pristine natural beauty, the work ranges from tracking wildlife to rescuing baby turtles.

World War 1 & the Conscription Referenda (1916-18)Prime Minister Billy Hughes tried to introduce conscription but was over ruled in the 1916 and 1917 referenda. When the War suddenly ended our weary young soldiers rejoiced on Victory Day, November 11, 1918.